Marrying Your Rapist

Marrying Your Rapist in Malaysia

Men Try to Avoid Rape Charges Through Forced Child Marriage

Heather Barr
Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division
heatherbarr1

Survivors of rape often say they are left with devastating, sometimes lifelong, trauma. One woman who was sexually assaulted in Iraq described her feelings this way: “I have no past and no future at the moment. I am stuck in my anger and pain.”

Imagine how much worse this pain would be if you were forced to marry your rapist and share a home and bed with him.
A woman walks past birdcages after she crossed the border from Malaysia into Thailand in Sungai Kolok in southern Narathiwat province March 8, 2013.

This is the reality for some girls in Malaysia, where local organizations have documented cases in which men who raped underage girls – in one case a girl of 12 – have attempted to evade criminal charges by marrying the girl.

They can do this because marital rape is not a crime in Malaysia. While under the current law men who marry their victim can still be prosecuted for rape committed before the marriage – which has happened in a few high-profile cases –the law makes it easier for rape to be swept under the carpet through marriage. “It’s not a rare occurrence,” the chair of a nongovernmental organization said. “It’s happening often.”

This escape route is even used by those who rape children, as child marriage is also permitted.

True, Malaysian civil law sets the minimum age of marriage at 18, but the law is riddled with exceptions. Girls 16 and older can marry with permission of their state’s chief minister. For Muslims, Islamic law sets a 16-year minimum age for girls and permits even earlier marriages, with no apparent minimum, with the permission of a Syariah court, Malaysia’s Sharia court.

These laws violate authoritative interpretations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which Malaysia has ratified. The United Nations considers the minimum legal marriage age 18, with exceptions granted solely under exceptional circumstances to mature children 16 or older, with a judge’s authorization.

Government officials have condemned cases where rapists have sought to evade prosecution through marriage. But Malaysia has resisted making marital rape a crime, and in April 2016, its legislature ignored calls from rights groups to ban child marriage. In May, the government admitted that more than 9,000 children married in the previous five years were younger than 18. The government claimed this number is falling, but there is no proof of this, as Malaysia is one of the few countries in Asia that does not provide annual data on child marriage to UNICEF, the UN children’s fund.

Malaysia’s girls and women deserve protection from both rape and child marriage. The government and the legislature should urgently reform the law to end these terrible practices.

That's true! I believe most religious teachings are meant to be good for the people that believe in them, but due to some use them as extremists for their benefits like above example and the terrorists

it is they way individual interpret what was written and most times, it maybe due to reasons applicable during the time it was written. once upon a time there is no cars and aeroplane, so today they shoukd not use these transportation?

if we still unable to differentiate what is right from wrong and need to make reference on simplenthing like this, better end their life earlier to help the world.

Rapists are animals. They have crossed the line of ethics and normality. They do not deserve to live a normal life. Whereas, the victim has suffered and is stuck in a cage. The rapists try to avoid the laws by marrying the victim. This should be prohibited.

I pray to God that nobody suffers from rape. You can't imagine what feels to the victim. It destroys his will to survive. How can a person live with his rapist together? The society needs to change and play their part in providing justice to the victim.

I can't imagine to think what the trauma does to the girls. Imagine living your entire lives thinking somebody is gonna abuse you. Such culprits should be given the maximum punishment. The authorities should set up rehab centres for the victim's treatment.

This is a very sickening event. Rape is a crime against humanity. Such people should be hanged publicly. The fear that goes into the mind of the victims is unimagineable. The law department should provide them with justice or otherwise such incidents will repeat.

That person should be punished heavily. I can't imagine the mental distress the girl must be suffering from. The victim should be given proper mental and psychological support in order to help her live a normal life. The society also needs to wake up and speak about sexual madness.